LS Cable expands into electric vehicle materials

CuFlakeTM [Courtesy of LS Cable & System]

South Korea’s LS Cable & System is rapidly expanding its business portfolio, previously confined to the wire manufacturing sector, into promising future industries including lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles (EVs), and related materials and components. In his second year as President & CEO, Koo Bon-kyu’s proactive drive to discover and foster new business ventures has led to meaningful results.

LS Cable said on Wednesday it has developed CuFlake, a novel material crucial to the production of the negative electrode collector for secondary batteries. It marks the world’s first commercialization of copper flakes instead of copper wire as a raw material for copper foil.

CuFlake lowers costs by reducing raw material processing during copper foil manufacturing. Unlike copper wire, which undergoes a four to five step cleaning process to remove impurities, CuFlake, created by melting scraps and shaping them into fragments, can be used directly in copper foil manufacturing. And unlike copper wire, which uses only the highest-grade scrap, CuFlake can use lower grades, solving the problem of scrap availability.

The company recently completed sample tests with copper foil manufacturers and targets commercializing the materisal as early as 2024, projecting annual revenues of over 100 billion won ($76.7 million).

This breakthrough has spurred LS Cable’s definitive plans to escalate its presence in the secondary battery materials business. Since Koo’s appointment as CEO in 2021, the company has actively targeted the battery and EV-related materials and components market to reduce its reliance on traditional power cable manufacturing.

LS Cable’s subsidiaries serve as vanguards for venturing into new businesses, with LS Materials forming a joint venture, HAIMK, with Austria’s HAI, a global player in aluminum components for EVs. HAIMK will construct a new plant in Gumi, which is set to produce aluminum cases safeguarding EV batteries from external impacts starting in 2025.

Meanwhile, LS EVC produces trapezoidal copper wires for electric vehicle drive motors, which are wound around the drive motor at an angle to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy and are considered a high value-added product among copper wires. LS Eco Energy is pursuing rare earth trading, planning to supply refined neodymium, a crucial raw material for permanent magnets used in EVs, wind turbines, and more.

Koo Bon-kyu’s strategy of leveraging LS Cable’s established copper and aluminum businesses and global business networks to penetrate promising future industries aligns seamlessly with LS Chairman Koo Ja-eun’s vision set forth in January 2023 that aims to foster growth through businesses in batteries, EVs, and semiconductors as well as becoming a global group worth at least 50 trillion won by 2030.